Acclaimed Arab film personalities Akef Najm, Ghazi Hussein, Dr Habib Ghuloom and Mansour al Faili were honoured along with several local and regional personalities for their contribution to the regional cinema at the glittering concluding ceremony of the Fourth International Arab Film Festival, Cinemana, in Musandam on Wednesday.
The Omani personalities from the cinema and theatre who were honoured for excellence in arts included Dr Abdul Karim bin Ali Jawad, Zakaria bin Yahya al Zadjali, Dr Khadija bint Suleiman al Shehiyah, Salem bin Ahmed al Khanzouri, Abdul Rahman bin Ahmed al Mulla, Dr Ahmed bin Murad al Balushi, Auf bin Abdullah al Shehi, Fatima bint Ali al Salmiyah, and Dr Wafa bint Salem al Shamsiyah.
The chairman and members of the jury in the short film competition, Tariq Abdulaziz, director and producer Mamdouh Salem, Zakaria al Zadjali, professor Rasha Barakat, actress Amal Muhammad, and the chairman and members of the jury in the Feature Narrative Film Competition, Akef Najm, Dr Abdul Karim Jawad, Prof Dr Mohammed Mohsen al Zarai, Mervat Omar and actress Gouri Nair were some of the eminent personalities who received the honour in front of a packed audience at the festival.
Oman hosted the Film Fest, Cinemana, for the second time in a row at two locations, Muscat and Musandam, from February 3 to 8, where 121 films (43 short and long films) from Oman, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Algeria, UAE, Sudan, Iraq, Palestine, Bahrain, Iran, Serbia, Portugal, India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and Tunisia were screened at the two venues, Lunar Cinema in Al Muzn Mall in the Wilayat of Seeb and Musandam sports club in Khasab.
10 films (Jordanian “Al Kamin” directed by Ashraf al Abadi, Syrian “Al Hakim” directed by Basil al Khatib, Kuwaiti “Oscar” directed by Mohammed al Hamli, Indian “Ayisha” directed by Aamir Pallikkal, Algerian movie “Halim al Ra’ad” directed by Bin Abdullah Mohammed, Serbian movie “A Cross in the Desert” directed by Hadzi-Aleksandar Djurovic, Iraqi movie “The Last Messengers” directed by Saad al Assami, Egyptian movie “ Wesh al Qafs” by director Dina Abdel Salam, Saudi Arabian movie “Hayat a Woman” by Samir Aref, and Emirati movie “218 Behind the Wall of Silence” by Nahla al Fahd made it to the feature film section.
The number of short films participated in the competition were 33 films, including fiction, animation and documentaries. From the Sultanate of Oman, the movie “Al Drooj” by Dr Hamid al Amri and the movie “Pitacarotene” by Mohammed al Darushi, and from Egypt the movie “Rainy Spring” by Ahmed Khalil Ali and the movie “Phase” by the director Engy Hossam, “Sarah” by Abdullah Adel, “The Voice of God” by Shadi al Masoudi, “What We Cannot See” by Adham Yahya, “Maktoub” by Mohamed Rabie, “Two Rooms and a Hall” by Mina Maher Milad, “The Last Message” by Walid Sari, “To Live in Another Place” by Safaa al Sayed and “The Road to Ramallah” by director Mohammed Issa, and from Palestine the movie “My Crutch” by Ahmed Tariq Hamad, “Crowned with Laurel Leaves” by Hayat Amjad, and “Six Days Are Not Enough” by the two directors, Mahmoud Abu Shamsia and Thaer Metwally. From Iraq “Article 57” directed by Ali Hassan Abbas, “Sherine” by Zaid Shukr, “The Last Promises” by Ali Abdel Sattar, “Sukrah” by Mohammed Abdel Amir, “Peace” by Faten Karim, "Traffic light" directed by Mohammed Khudair, and "Naima" directed by Sami Seif. From Morocco "The Secret of the Seal" and “Inverse” by Abdelrahim Bouklas, “Clowny's Mama” by Manal Goa and “Tarifs/Takhareef” by Aziz Bojh. From Syria and France, the movie “The Odor of Orange” by the Malas brothers, and from Syria “Abha” by Rabab Merhajo, “Sabbat” by Hossam Hamo, “Very Long” by Robin Issa. From Tunisia "Krenti", directed by Aziz al Shennawy, from Sudan “Cinnamon Dalia” by Khairy Samir, and from the UAE the movie “Curtain” directed by Majed al Jasmi and Khalifa al Bahri were screened.
Organisers of the fest said that since the launch of the first session in 2020, the festival had proven its importance in embracing the passion and creativity of Omani and Arab youth.
"There has been an overwhelming response to the film festival, which was hosted by Oman for the second time in a row, and this fest is a clear indication that cinema, tourism and culture are closely intertwined and we aim at identifying the cultural, civilisational and developmental features in the two governorates, as they are characterised by historical and geographical components," said Dr Khaled al Zadjali, Chairman of the Organising Committee and Vice-President of the General Union of Arab Artistes, Dr Talib bin Mohammed al Balushi, Vice-President of the Festival, and Saleh bin Mahfouz al Qasimi, Chairman of the Media Committee.
The ceremony also included a visual presentation of the films participating in both competitions and a speech by the festival’s president and the General Union of Arab Artists, then cinematic dramas and musical performances, in addition to honouring some directors.
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